fell off mid—air, forcing the pilots to make an emergency landing. the iranian—backed lebanese group hezbollah says it has launched a barrage of rockets at northern israel, in response to tuesday's beirut explosion that killed a top hamas official. us secretary of state, antony blinken, begins his latest trip to the middle east and the wider region for talks — his fourth since hamas' october attack on israel. police in london confirm they're investigating potential fraud offences in relation to the wrongful prosecution of hundreds of sub—post masters by the post office. the uk health security agency issues a week—long cold weather alert as parts of england still struggle with floods following a week of heavy rain. three arrests over a fire on a bangladesh train after at least four people, including a child, died. it comes ahead of this weekend's election.

hello. i'm lauren taylor. let's return to that breaking news we brought to you earlier. an alaska airlines flight from the us city of portland has made an emergency landing after part of the aircraft blew out in mid—air. listen to this emergency call from a member of the cabin crew. social media video shot inside the boeing 737 max 9 shows a window section missing. the passengers remain in their seats, oxygen masks dangling, looking remarkably calm. alaska airlines said the hundred— and— seventy—seven passengers and crew landed safely back at portland. it has temporarily grounded its 65 max aircraft for inspection. the aeroplane has a chequered safety record. in 2019 it was grounded worldwide for eighteen months after two fatal crashes.

for more on this, i spoke to aviation expertjohn strickland who's in london. certainly it's fresh news this morning just prior to the interview. looking at the photos it's clear a section of fuselage equivalent to one window frame area in the row of seats affected, i must stress they know it's happened, the aircraft was able to safely land, there would have been an element of depressurisation with lower cruising altitude of 16,000 feet, that's roughly half of what an airline would be cruising during the flight. they needed to get the plane down safely which fortunately was done with all lives protected. i would stress that while we know little about the information of the evidence we have seen of this window frame that's come out of

the fuselage section of the plane, this has nothing to do with the reason for it being grounded. that was to do with software on a flight control system in the cockpit being defective. it was a major issue which has been fully resolved and now hundreds of his aircrafts around the world operated safely. it is understandable looking at the photographic evidence that alaska is taking a naturally cautious approach by grounding their fleet. we will have to see in the coming hours what happens in terms of more directives issued by the us regulatory authority. after that 2019 incident, there's been nothing of this magnitude since then. plain sailing for this particular airline.

yes, once this aircraft back into service which was about two years ago now, it's had a really good safety record. an enormous amount of work has been done after the tragic losses of two aircraft, one loss in indonesia and one in ethiopia. both were linked to the same software system problems. as we said, there was a grounding order put in place worldwide and it was really an extremely challenging time and cost of loss of life was extraordinary. it became a very challenging time for borrowing in terms of its reputation and its investigation by global authorities. there have been pains to restore themselves as a business and the aircraft itself. this is an aircraft that has been in service in different versions for 50 or more years, it has a great safety record.

so they needed to restore that and that had been done. something of this kind looks to be completely different. a section of fuselage to break loose is not remotely a common thing to happen. sorry to interrupt, we'rejust looking at that picture and the section mission. what effect would that have on the handling of the plane? it landed safely at portland but what kind of effect would it have for the pilot when something like that happens? i'm not a pilot myself but i don't believe it would have a significant effect on the handling. it's relatively contained. the primary issue would be the aircraft would not be able to remain pressurised but it seems, and i'm stressing i only have limited information, it looks like it was on

descent to portland or recently departed. if it was 16,000 feet, it is significant but it is not near cruising altitude which is around 30,000 feet. the issue of pressurisation would be less extreme at that level. they could have been loss of cabin pressure, the pilots themselves would have donned oxygen masks to ensure they could control the aircraft but in terms of the aircraft itself, it would have been fully controllable in terms of ability to get it down in a straightforward landing given there is a piece of fuselage missing. just in the last few minutes, we've had a statement from boeing saying it is aware of the grounding of the flight and they're working to get more information and are in

conversation with their airline customer so an investigation under way there after a section of a plane blew out in midair, the alaska airlines flight 1282. more on that as we get it. the powerful iranian—backed lebanese group hezbollah says it's launched a barrage of rockets at northern israel, in response to an explosion in beirut that killed a top hamas official earlier this week. a statement said they hit an air traffic control base in meron with 62 rockets. the israeli military said it had identified about forty launches from lebanon, and that it had responded, without giving details. these are live pictures from the lebanese israel border — we will keep across those and bring you any developments from there over the course of the hour. i spoke earlier with our correspondent, hugo bachega who is in beirut, on the reaction hezbollah has had to the killing of a hamas leader. it is interesting because this is happening a day after the

influential leader of hezbollah, hassan nasrallah, gave a speech and he said this attack that happened here in beirut on tuesday, that killed the deputy hamas leader would not go unpunished. and this suspected israeli attack killed saleh al—arouri, was a blow for hamas, but it also hit hezbollah because it was an attack that happened in a suburb of beirut that is a stronghold of hezbollah, so yesterday again hassan nasrallah vowing to retaliate and the group saying that these attacks that happened this morning were its initial response following this attack. what we've seen is that since the beginning of this war between israel and hamas in gaza, hezbollah has been carrying out attacks, targeting israeli positions almost every day, but so far most of this violence has been contained to areas along the lebanon—israel border because israeli authorities have been warning hezbollah against escalating the situation, saying this could lead to a catastrophic response, not only for hezbollah, which is this powerful organisation supported

by iran, but also for lebanon. and here todayjosep borrell, the eu foreign policy chief, is having talks with the lebanese authorities, including the caretaker prime minister, to talk about the situation along the lebanese—israeli border amid fears that the escalation of tensions there could lead to a major confrontation between hezbollah and israel. so, when you refer to the visit ofjosep borrell and talks with officials from the government, that's the official lebanese government, explain to us how much influence they have on what hezbollah does and does not do on the border. yes, and i think this is the main challenge here because the

authorities in lebanon have very little, if any, influence over hezbollah, which is this powerful military sociopolitical organisation that acts almost as a state within a state here in lebanon. and it shows how difficult it is to try to contain the violence here that has been happening between the group and israel. and here in lebanon there is the concern that this country could be dragged into another conflict. people here still remember what happened in 2006, the devastation caused by the war between israel and hezbollah, and this country is going through a massive economic crisis as well, so very little support, public support, for another military confrontation between hezbollah and israel, but it is incredibly difficult for the government to deal with the situation, as they have very little influence over what the group decides to do. presumably there will be some eyes on iran

and what they decide to do as well because hezbollah is funded by iran, isn't it? exactly, and hezbollah is the main actor of this alliance of forces that is supported by iran, the so—called axis of resistance. that includes hamas in gaza, also the houthis in yemen — and we know they've been carrying out attacks targeting vessels in the red sea — and also groups and factions operating in syria and iraq, so in many ways you have different factions across the region and we've seen that violence has escalated across the middle east from the beginning of this conflict, so you have these different players acting all across the region and the challenges facing all those countries and diplomats trying to contain the spread of this violence.

0ur correspondent shaimaa khalil is injerusalem. she gave this update about israel's response to the latest attack of hezbollah rockets. what we've heard from the idf that they responded to to the rocket attacks in in northern on northern israel. the in the latest statement from the idf, they said that they responded to what they described as a terrorist cell responsible for the launches. they also said that they identified a0 launches coming from lebanon. i also just want to bring you the latest from khan yunis in gaza. we've heard from the palestinian red cross in there saying that artillery and heavy gunfire from drones reported in the vicinity of aman hospital in khan younis in the gaza strip. and that's for a third day now. there's been sustained fighting,

sustained bombardment in central gaza in those three main refugee camps, people trying to flee further south to an area that the people were told by israel to go to for safety has also been bombardment. there's been also heavy shelling and heavy artillery, tank artillery in khan younis. and we've heard from both the idf and our sources on the ground, the idf saying that they have killed numerous hamas militants from ground and from the air and destroyed a number of tunnel shafts and also destroyed a weapons storage facility. what we've heard, the effect of the civilians, the palestinians on the ground in khan yunis is that there's been bombardment and strikes in every direction in khan yunis. really artillery and shelling with hundreds of families trying to flee to rafah. that's the southernmost city. as the ground offensive continues.

people have been arrived. casualties have been arriving at the european hospital. we also understand that 18 people have been killed in one air raid on a family home and that that number includes two displaced people as well in khan yunis. tell us about the visit of antony blinken. the us secretary of state is the fourth visit since the october seventh attacks. and as you describe, the situation with israel and gaza is that israel is not letting up as it appears anyway on the offensive there. what will blinken�*s message be? well, i think blinken�*s message will remain the same, but his mission has become much more complicated for two main reasons, i think. one is that as as we've been reporting, the the fighting in gaza, the un ground offensive in gaza has has been intensifying. has been deepening. that's in keeping with the line from the israeli government and the israeli military. but that is really what the us has been pressing to change the united states, the state department has been pressuring israel to scale down the offensive,

to use a more targeted approach. and even though we heard that from the israeli defense minister, we haven't seen it been translated on the ground, maybe some targeted attacks on some targeted missions in northern gaza, but not in central gaza and not in the south. the bombardment and the strikes continue there. so that's going to be yet another difficult conversation that antony blinken keeps having with his allies. but also diplomatically, it becomes very difficult because not only does he have to call for a de—escalation, but also what happens the day after? what is the future of gaza, after the war? we've heard a proposal from yoav gallant. this four corner proposal that sees the general security being on israel, israel essentially being responsible for the security presence in gaza and some sort of palestinian governors with no specifications on who exactly is going to govern gaza.

the the state department, the secretary of state has to really galvanize notjust the israeli side and the arab negotiators and the palestinians. he has to come up with a unified stance from israel itself, which we don't have. this was the proposal, and it's just a proposal for now from yoav gallant. it hasn't been agreed on by the right wing, the rest of the right wing government. you've got the finance minister, you've got the security national security ministers essentially calling for the displacement and the relocation of people of gaza. this has been described as extremists and inflammatory comments. so trying to bridge the gap within the netanyahu government is a difficult mission. trying to come up with a unified stance that he can then take to the arab negotiating negotiators is yet another one that he has to face. we can speak now tojuliette touma, who is the unrwa director of communications. thank you for being with us. we heard in that report that khan younis has been particularly badly hit, tells about the situation there. , ., , .,

shelters that unwrwa runs. there is no place in the shelters, they are overrun so people are resorting to either staying in the open, some in their cars, some renting just a room here and there at very high prices and the bombardment continues, displacement continues and in many cases we had even our own staff being displaced for five times. while we are talking to you, we had some reports from reuters quoting the gazza health ministry, which is hamas controlled. the figure they gave a moment ago was 58,000 injured

and 22,000 dead, that is from the hamas run gazza health ministry. how the hospital is coping with that level of casualty?— the hospital is coping with that level of casualty? the hospital is coping with that level of casual ? , , , ., level of casualty? these numbers are sta: caerin level of casualty? these numbers are staggering and _ level of casualty? these numbers are staggering and they _ level of casualty? these numbers are staggering and they keep _ level of casualty? these numbers are staggering and they keep increasing i staggering and they keep increasing by the hour. at unrwa, we lost many colleagues since the war began and this is just what you are able to confirm. i'm afraid new number is much higher than that. hospitals and medical civilities lack the basics including medicine and other material to treat the wounded but also the patients, including the chronically ill and this is precisely why the need to be much more humanitarian supplies. i understand we've got some pictures

of the rafah crossing. some aid coming through, what is able to come through at the moment and what are you getting? bid through at the moment and what are you getting?— you getting? aid has been coming throu~h you getting? aid has been coming through via _ you getting? aid has been coming through via two _ you getting? aid has been coming through via two crossings, - you getting? aid has been coming through via two crossings, not - you getting? aid has been coming| through via two crossings, not only the one with egypt but also the one with israel and we are seeing a slight increase in the flow of aid and this is critical and very important that this increase good to do is because we are, as i've told you, counting down towards famine. we will need a steady flow of humanitarian supplies and also commercial supplies which are coming in very little quantities so for the markets to be up on their feet, reopen, there has to be more commercial supplies because the humanitarian operation cannot do it on its own. . ~' ,,

humanitarian operation cannot do it on its own. ., ,, i. ., humanitarian operation cannot do it on its own-— on its own. thank you for giving us the latest there. _ on its own. thank you for giving us the latest there. pleasure. - in the uk... the metropolitan police has confirmed it's investigating potential fraud offences, in relation to the wrongful prosecution of hundreds of sub—postmasters by the post office. around 700 people were blamed for accounting mistakes caused by faulty it software — which made it look like money was missing. some were wrongfully imprisoned, in a scandal which was recently dramatised on itv. 0ur reporter, vincent mcaviney, has more details. mr bates vs the post office has brought to light a story for years those in power wouldn't believe. for the post office branch managers across the country over two decades, it's been a nightmare they couldn't escape. i haven't got that money. and i don't know where it's gone. noel thomas, a former sub—postmaster in anglesea, was one of those wrongly sent to prison. this week has offered some catharsis after years of torment. the rest of the country knows how the government and the post office have dealt with us over

the many, many years. it's been 18 years for me. and, you know, it's been hell for a lot of people. after a long battle, the court of appeal quashed noel and 38 others' convictions. but no—one responsible has been convicted for their role. now, the metropolitan police has confirmed it's investigating potential fraud offences arising out of the prosecutions, relating to monies recovered from sub—postmasters of prosecutions or civil actions. the force is already looking into potential offences of perjury and perverting the course ofjustice. two people have been interviewed already under caution. but no—one has yet been arrested. as a result of the four—part itv drama, lawyers who act for claimants say that dozens more

potential victims have come forward, finally ready to face their trauma. these people have been so heavily damaged psychologically by the post office and their actions, they've been so fearful of coming forward and going through the process again. now, what the drama has done is brought awareness, huge widespread sympathy to these people. so alongside that, family encouragement, and speaking with other sub—postmasters who have been on this journey, they have finally found the courage to come forward. the post office has once again apologised for the effect this scandal has caused. for viewers, this drama has brought to attention the greatest miscarriage injustice in uk history. justice delayed might bejustice denied. for hundreds of postmasters, there's hope justice may finally be delivered. a clean—up operation

for communities is underway across parts of england this morning after days of heavy rainfall led to more than 1,000 homes and businesses being flooded. more than 200 flood warnings remain in place, mostly in the midlands, east anglia and the south. will batchelor reports. water levels may have peaked, but as they recede, they reveal a trail of destruction. homes flooded, treasured possessions lost, gardens completely submerged. the water actually started coming through the floor. not through the door coming through the floor. some said it's gone down, but it's going to go back up. some have said it's going down. some have said it is coming up. so at the end of the day, all i know is i've got, what, five, six centimetres of water in my house. when this resident of gloucestershire's only island, human and canine return, that's when the real work will start. and for thousands, it has already begun. staff and locals pulled together to get this pub in somerset back open. while these neighbours in stevenson,

hampshire tried their best to unblock drains, though, not everyone was so helpful. as they tried to recover some kind of normality. many know this will probably happen again. it's the second time this house in hampshire is flooded. the last was in 2007. while angie's home near bridgnorth in shropshire has flooded three times in the last year. it is what it is and you've just got to wait till it decides to go away. and it's notjust homes. this farm in lincolnshire was completely submerged for the second time in four years when a river burst its banks. for now, all the farmer can do is move his livestock to higher ground, hoping the land recovers in time for lambing season. the prime minister, rishi sunak, is facing calls from opposition parties to convene an urgent cobra style task force to protect homes from further damage and to visit areas hit by flooding. he says the environment agency has people on the ground in all the affected areas. meanwhile, many communities are doing their best to help each other. this was in nottinghamshire,

where the river trent was at its highest level in a quarter century with a cold snap predicted next and more rain likely it's going to be a long, hard winter ahead for many. will batchelor, bbc news. and we'll have more from our correspondents in nottinghamshire and gloucestershire in the next few minutes. keeping an eye on those pictures, thatis keeping an eye on those pictures, that is the river trent in nottinghamshire and almost 250 flood warning still in place across england and wales as conditions continue to cause trouble problems across large parts of the country so keep an eye on that. stay with us here on bbc news.

hello, for many of us a dry start. after the rain and recent storms if at the stop volley flooding should start to subside but lots of blue skies this morning. this was in south lanarkshire and you can see the many parts of the uk we had clear skies which extends its way out from the atlantic at well and the reason is high pressure which builds in across the united kingdom and what it does it stops the weather systems coming in and the rain bearing weather system as well. for the rest of the day, cloud and showers easing in. one or two towards cornwall as well and maximum temperatures getting to 6—8 c and her mouth was a lovely afternoon with dry weather and sunshine. through the evening and tonight,

eastern areas sees cloud drift further westwards and some clear skies across most areas and it will be quite called with some frost across the north and west with temperatures —10 minus two celsius where we keep cloud perhaps frost free and staying just above freezing but as we go through sunday, showers, cross and the client may start of the four lifting and breaking on across parts of the uk on sunday afternoon with temperatures at 4—6 c a bit chilly and to celsius in glasgow. as we go into next week, this area of high pressure remains, not movie very far at all for the works five days but believe the area of high pressure we have an east or north easterly wind joining in the colder airfrom scandinavia temperatures at or below the average for the time of year and on monday morning patches of mist and fog clearing away with frost around as well and plenty of dry

weather with some sunny spells and temperatures only feted 3—5 c but with that rather brisk east north—easterly wind feeling like this so like freezing across central areas than for the rest of the week thing largely try and settled.

alaska airlines ground a plane after a section of fuselage fell off mid air, requiring emergency landing. the iranian—backed lebanese group, hezbollah, says it has launched a barrage of rockets at northern israel, in response to tuesday's beirut explosion that killed a top hamas official. three arrests after a fire on a bangladesh training which four people including a child dies ahead of the election. police in london confirm they're investigating potential fraud offences in relation to the wrongful prosecution of hundreds of sub—postmasters by the post office. more than 700 branch managers were accused of wrongdoing. back now to our main story, the powerful iranian—backed lebanese group, hezbollah, says it's launched a barrage of rockets at northern israel, in response to an explosion in beirut that killed a top hamas official earlier this week. a statement said they hit an air traffic control base in meron with 62 rockets.

the israeli military said it had identified about a0 launches from lebanon, and that it had responded, without giving details. these are live pictures from the lebanese israel border — we will keep across those and bring you any developments from there over the course of the hour. well, this all comes as the us secretary of state antony blinken is beginning a fresh round of talks on the conflict with regional leaders. mr blinken will first meet with turkey's president, recep tayyip erdogan, in istanbul on saturday and will be visiting israel next week. washington's priorities are to prevent the war from becoming a wider regional conflict and to secure an increase in humanitarian aid to palestinian civilians. 0ur north america correspondent anthony zurcher is travelling with the secretary of state and sent this update. us secretary of state antony blinken has a number of goals for this, his fourth trip to the mideast since the october 7th attacks. he wants more humanitarian aid to reach civilians in gaza. he wants hamas to release remaining hostages held in gaza. he also wants to try to keep this conflict from spreading

throughout the region. that is going to be a challenging task given recent missile attacks from houthi rebels on shipping in the red sea, attacks on us military bases in syria and iraq, as well as the growing conflict between israel and hezbollah in northern israel and southern lebanon. antony blinken also wants to begin a conversation with israel and with the regional powers, arab powers, about what happens after israel winds down its military campaign in gaza. there are some very real differences between what the united states envisions for palestinian self—rule in gaza, what israeli officials have proposed so far, and what arab partners to the us would be willing to go along with and help with. a senior state department official told me just yesterday that rhetoric coming out of the israeli leadership makes it more difficult for the united states to try to convince arab nations

to lend a helping hand, to be part of a multinational coalition to rebuild gaza and help the palestinians. now, anthony blinken�*s meetings start here today in istanbul with turkish president recep erdogan. he continues on tojordan, several gulf states, a potential meeting with mohammed bin salman in saudi arabia, several days in israel and finally a day stop in cairo. it is going to be a frenetic series of days of shuttle diplomacy for the us secretary of state as he tries to control this conflict and exert american influence in the region. there's been a wave of arson attacks on schools in bangladesh that the crown prosecution service has said a 16—year—old boy has been charged with the murder of 16—year—old harry pitman who was stabbed to death in north london on

new year's eve. there's been a wave of arson attacks on schools in bangladesh that were due to be used as polling stations in sunday's election. and police have arrested three people in connection with a fire on a moving train. four people died in the blaze, which flared up on the outskirts of the capital, dhaka. officers said those detained had been found in possession of petrol bombs. two of the train�*s passengers are also being questioned in connection with the fire. there've been a number of acts of sabotage in bangladesh ahead of sunday's parliamentary election. the vote is being boycotted by most opposition parties who say it's a sham. well, prime minister sheikh hasina's awami league—led alliance is set to win a fourth straight term in the election. the main opposition, former prime minister khaleda zia of the bangladesh nationalist party is boycotting the poll , after hasina denied her demand to make way for a neutral caretaker government to run the election. akbar hossain has more.

sheikh hasina is now the longest—serving prime minister in south asia. for the last 15 years, her government has been widely criticized for human rights violations and undermining the democratic process. many people believe that a one—sided election will only worsen the country's economic and political situation because the west may not accept the results. there were widespread allegations of vote—rigging and fraud during the last two general elections. noor allam is a rickshaw puller in the northern district of rampur. he says he lost confidence in the electoral process. translation: they don't need our votes. _ they will win the elections anyway. it doesn't matter whether we go to polling centres or not. countries should fulfil their commitments. the united states, european union and britain are putting diplomatic pressure on bangladesh's government to hold a free, fair and credible election.

but without participation from opposition parties, the election is neither inclusive nor competitive. candidates who are taking part in the elections are either ruling party men or their sympathisers. translation: right at the moment, i we can't say whether the elections i will be competitive or not, but our main objective is to hold a vote election. we are working on that. many observers believe that the upcoming elections will turn bangladesh into a one—party state, an allegation often rejected by sheikh hasina's awami league party. the us supreme court has confirmed that it will decide whether donald trump will be kept off the 2024 ballot in colorado and also other states. the colorado state supreme court removed trump from the primary ballot, citing the constitution's 14th amendment to claim he should not be allowed

to run because of his role in the january 6 insurrection. michael fanone is a former washington dc police officer who was very badly injured in the capitol riot, suffering from a heart attack and a brain injury. here's his assessment three years on. i would give myself a clean bill of health. unfortunately, i feel like the same cannot be said for the state of our country. and how do you mark a day like this? you know, i never really go into...or at least i haven't in the past two anniversaries, gone into it with any particular plans. itjust seems to kind of play out the way that it plays out. tomorrow, i'm doing an early morning interview and then the rest of the day is mine. i'm probablyjust going to go spend time with my family. donald trump, of course, we have to say, maintains his innocence through all of this. the events of january 6th came,

those protests on that day, came from a belief i from a lot of people that the election had been somehow stolen, of course, buoyed by the remarks that donald trump was making. he refused to accept the outcome of that election. given we're still a long way from election day, but it would look at this point like it's going to be a rematch between biden and trump, notwithstanding what may happen between now and november. are you concerned that something similar may happen towards the end of this year? should donald trump lose again? should he refuse to accept the outcome of the election? i'm not concerned, and i'll tell you why. it's because i'm convinced that something is going to happen. in fact, i think even that statement is disingenuous and that we have seen a continuation of politically inspired violence in the aftermath of january 6th, obviously nothing to the same scale that we all witnessed at the capitol that day. but we've seen attacks perpetrated against law enforcement, against the fbi, threats made to elected officials, threats made tojudges, really, anybody that opposes maga.

and the former president draws his ire and he knows that simply mentioning them leads to his followers attacking them, threatening them. you know, i wouldn't even call them dog whistles any more. these are overt threats. he knows exactly what he's doing. so what can be done? do you have hope for the future? i don't know if i would call it hope. i feel as though...the department ofjustice, other institutions that are charged with protecting our democracy are doing theirjob within the confines of their authority. but ultimately, it's every

american�*s responsibility to preserve democracy and ensure that it exists for future generations in this country. i think that in a way we've all become complacent to oui’ own success. and we haven't seen our democracy challenged in this way in a very long time. we certainly haven't seen that threat come from within. so i think it's important that every american, especially our newer voters, you know, those who may not have been old enough at the time of the january 6th attack to fully appreciate what took place. and again, i turn to the president, joe biden, to set the tone and to help educate those americans as to what's really at stake here. here in the uk, more than 20—million working people will pay less

national insurance from today. the treasury says an average earner will save around £450 a year — but critics warn other tax changes mean employees won't be any better off. the uk chancellorjeremy hunt told the bbc this is an important step in bringing down the tax burden on ordinary families. we gave a lot of help to families during the pandemic and in the cost of living crisis, and just like america, germany, france, many other countries, taxes have gone up to pay for that. we are making a start in bringing them down today, we can't get all the way back to pre—pandemic levels of tax in one fell swoop, but we do want to bring taxes down, and that is a fundamental choice the country will be making this year, a general election year. with more on this, our correspondent, anisa kadri. how will this affect wages? the 1096 how will this affect wages? the 10% rate

how will this affect wages? the 1096 rate replaces _ how will this affect wages? the 1096 rate replaces the _ how will this affect wages? the 1096 rate replaces the 1296 _ how will this affect wages? the 1096 rate replaces the 1296 rate _ how will this affect wages? the 1096 rate replaces the 1296 rate and - rate replaces the 12% rate and national insurance, the money automatically deducted from salaries in the uk to fund state pensions, we have done maths on this. i will talk you through how this affects people's wages. the change means if you earn the average uk wage, £35,000 a year, you could save £37 38 a month, £450 a year. someone earning £50,000 a year could be £62 a month better off. national insurance on income above £270 will remain at 2% and changes for self—employed people aren't due to come in until april six. that'sjust some of the impacts. and come in until april six. that's “ust some of the impactsi come in until april six. that's “ust some of the impacts. and there's an election coming _ some of the impacts. and there's an election coming up. _ some of the impacts. and there's an election coming up. how— some of the impacts. and there's an election coming up. how significantl election coming up. how significant is the timing of this? this election coming up. how significant is the timing of this?— is the timing of this? this is announced _ is the timing of this? this is announced in _ is the timing of this? this is announced in the _ is the timing of this? this is announced in the autumn i is the timing of this? this is - announced in the autumn statement. tax is always a big issue at election time and we will hear parties talk about their various

positions when it comes to tax. the chancellor says the national insurance changes that came in today mean everyone will take her more cash but others pointed out that overall tax is rising to record levels and critics point out that the government has frozen income tax thresholds until 2028, meaning more people are paying tax. so a big issue always in an election year. and if anybody in the uk wants to know exactly how these changes coming in today will affect them, they can go to the website where there is a calculator. they can find out more there. sham; there is a calculator. they can find out more there.— out more there. any reaction from labour on — out more there. any reaction from labour on this? _ out more there. any reaction from labour on this? some _ out more there. any reaction from labour on this? some of - out more there. any reaction from labour on this? some of the - out more there. any reaction from| labour on this? some of the critics ointed labour on this? some of the critics pointed out — labour on this? some of the critics pointed out that _ labour on this? some of the critics pointed out that the _ labour on this? some of the critics pointed out that the government l labour on this? some of the critics l pointed out that the government has frozen income tax thresholds until 2028, they say people are paying record levels of tax at the moment. so the governor to selling this at a time of cost of living saying everyone will get a bit more cash, perhaps it can be seen in a

different way there. downing street documents seen by the bbc suggest that the british prime minister, rishi sunak, had serious doubts about the uk government's rwanda migration policy when he was chancellor of the exchequer. the papers, written in march 2022, indicate that his view then was that it would not stop the channel crossings. a source close to rishi sunak told the bbc, "the prime minister was always fully behind the principle of the scheme as a deterrent." the scheme to send some asylum seekers to rwanda for processing and potentially resettlement, in order to deter people from crossing the english channel in small boats, was first announced by then—prime minister borisjohnson in april 2022. a clean—up operation for communities is under way across parts of england this morning after days of heavy rainfall led to more than 1,000 homes and businesses being flooded. more than 200 flood warnings remain in place, mostly in the midlands, east anglia and the south. will batchelor reports.

live now to our correspondent — fiona lamdin, who is in gloucester, where some residents needed to be evacuated from their homes yesterday. tell us the latest there. yes, we are in gloucester _ tell us the latest there. yes, we are in gloucester and _ tell us the latest there. yes, we are in gloucester and as - tell us the latest there. yes, we are in gloucester and as you - tell us the latest there. yes, we are in gloucester and as you can j are in gloucester and as you can see, this is the fence. the water is everywhere. sandbags, people pumping out water. we have come to this house. good morning. told me what you're doing. tell us what it's been like for the past couple of days. absolutely horrendous. we've had to -et absolutely horrendous. we've had to get all _ absolutely horrendous. we've had to get all the _ absolutely horrendous. we've had to get all the furniture up, two dogs to put— get all the furniture up, two dogs to put upstairs, they are getting frustrated, he's upset because he is continuing _ frustrated, he's upset because he is continuing to sweep the water out, two pumps — continuing to sweep the water out, two pumps in the kitchen, no toilet facilities _ two pumps in the kitchen, no toilet facilities. he is disabled but the

door_ facilities. he is disabled but the door at— facilities. he is disabled but the door at the top is open but you can't _ door at the top is open but you can't get — door at the top is open but you can't get him up there. he can't walk— can't get him up there. he can't walk and — can't get him up there. he can't walk and it's really frustrating for him _ walk and it's really frustrating for him if— walk and it's really frustrating for him. , ., walk and it's really frustrating for him. i., walk and it's really frustrating for him. i. , walk and it's really frustrating for him. , , walk and it's really frustrating for him. i. , , ., him. if you look here, this is a defence to _ him. if you look here, this is a defence to stop _ him. if you look here, this is a defence to stop the _ him. if you look here, this is a defence to stop the water - him. if you look here, this is a i defence to stop the water coming him. if you look here, this is a - defence to stop the water coming in but it's breached that. can we have a look? your uncle is ivan? you can see ivan. ivan and his parrot. good morning. i've been sweeping out the floor. ivan, you are doing a brilliantjob. how many days have you been doing this for? as you can see, as you can rant here you can see, as you can rant here you can see the kitchen is still underwater. it's receding though. definitely, two or— it's receding though. definitely, two or three inches it's gone down. how many— two or three inches it's gone down. how many years have you lived here? since 1978. ., ., ., , .,

since 1978. how often has a flooded like this? six _ since 1978. how often has a flooded like this? six times _ since 1978. how often has a flooded like this? six times we've _ since 1978. how often has a flooded like this? six times we've been - like this? six times we've been flooded, four _ like this? six times we've been flooded, four times _ like this? six times we've been flooded, four times in - like this? six times we've been flooded, four times in the - like this? six times we've been i flooded, four times in the house. the worst— flooded, four times in the house. the worst it's been has gone up to the radiators. and the worst it's been has gone up to the radiators-— the radiators. and you are determined _ the radiators. and you are determined not _ the radiators. and you are determined not to - the radiators. and you are determined not to move l the radiators. and you are i determined not to move out, the radiators. and you are - determined not to move out, you the radiators. and you are _ determined not to move out, you will stay here? determined not to move out, you will sta here? �* ., ., , determined not to move out, you will stay here?_ as i stay here? i've got nowhere else. as ou can stay here? i've got nowhere else. as you can see — stay here? i've got nowhere else. as you can see here. — stay here? i've got nowhere else. as you can see here, ivan _ stay here? i've got nowhere else. as you can see here, ivan has _ stay here? i've got nowhere else. as you can see here, ivan has two - stay here? i've got nowhere else. as. you can see here, ivan has two pumps that are pumping the water out into the back garden. let's show you the view of the back garden. as you can see here, the water, you can see through the window. there are sandbags at the window and you can see they have pipes going out the kitchen window, piping it out into the garden. let's come back to sylvia. you are helping your uncle, you have had to stack all that

furniture. you have had to stack all that furniture-— you have had to stack all that furniture. , , , . . ~ furniture. everything is stacked. we've had _ furniture. everything is stacked. we've had to — furniture. everything is stacked. we've had to go _ furniture. everything is stacked. we've had to go out _ furniture. everything is stacked. we've had to go out and - furniture. everything is stacked. we've had to go out and put - furniture. everything is stacked. we've had to go out and put the birds _ we've had to go out and put the birds up — we've had to go out and put the birds up to— we've had to go out and put the birds up to the _ we've had to go out and put the birds up to the top _ we've had to go out and put the birds up to the top avery- we've had to go out and put the birds up to the top avery as - we've had to go out and put the i birds up to the top avery as well. and i_ birds up to the top avery as well. and i can — birds up to the top avery as well. and i can see _ birds up to the top avery as well. and i can see the _ birds up to the top avery as well. and i can see the dogs— birds up to the top avery as well. and i can see the dogs up- birds up to the top avery as well. and i can see the dogs up there i birds up to the top avery as well. . and i can see the dogs up there are desperate to get out. but they can't get out. you are here on hand but he won't leave?— won't leave? no. i can understand it. it's won't leave? no. i can understand it- it's been _ won't leave? no. i can understand it. it's been his— won't leave? no. i can understand it. it's been his life _ won't leave? no. i can understand it. it's been his life since... - it. it's been his life since... since — it. it's been his life since... since the _ it. it's been his life since... since the '70s. _ it. it's been his life since... since the '70s. he - it. it's been his life since... since the '70s. he won't. it. it's been his life since... i since the '70s. he won't leave because — since the '70s. he won't leave because birds— since the '70s. he won't leave because birds and _ since the '70s. he won't leave because birds and dogs, - since the '70s. he won't leave because birds and dogs, there since the '70s. he won't leave . because birds and dogs, there is nowhere — because birds and dogs, there is nowhere else _ because birds and dogs, there is nowhere else for— because birds and dogs, there is nowhere else for him _ because birds and dogs, there is nowhere else for him to - because birds and dogs, there is nowhere else for him to go. - because birds and dogs, there is nowhere else for him to go. he i because birds and dogs, there is - nowhere else for him to go. he can't io nowhere else for him to go. he can't go upstairs. — nowhere else for him to go. he can't go upstairs. we— nowhere else for him to go. he can't go upstairs, we have _ nowhere else for him to go. he can't go upstairs, we have to— nowhere else for him to go. he can't go upstairs, we have to go— nowhere else for him to go. he can't go upstairs, we have to go up- nowhere else for him to go. he can't go upstairs, we have to go up for. go upstairs, we have to go up for him _ go upstairs, we have to go up for him that's — go upstairs, we have to go up for him. that's his— go upstairs, we have to go up for him. that's his bed. _ go upstairs, we have to go up for him. that's his bed. so— go upstairs, we have to go up for him. that's his bed. so it's - go upstairs, we have to go up for him. that's his bed. so it's very. him. that's his bed. so it's very frustrating _ him. that's his bed. so it's very frustrating for— him. that's his bed. so it's very frustrating for him. _ him. that's his bed. so it's very frustrating for him.— him. that's his bed. so it's very frustrating for him. thank you for lettin: us frustrating for him. thank you for letting us see _ frustrating for him. thank you for letting us see him _ frustrating for him. thank you for letting us see him at _ frustrating for him. thank you for letting us see him at this - frustrating for him. thank you for letting us see him at this difficultj letting us see him at this difficult time. ivan is still sleeping. i will show you as we go, this is... the water here, people are trapped in here. the only good news is that at

least the rain has stopped, it's a blue sky above me and at the moment, the rain has stopped and they are nowjust the rain has stopped and they are now just waiting for this the rain has stopped and they are nowjust waiting for this water to go down. i will leave you if i can with this shot down the road. i wrote an usually full of cars... full of people walking about. but it looks like we are in venice. you can see the sandbags stacked up and the pumps. they are just see the sandbags stacked up and the pumps. they arejust pumping see the sandbags stacked up and the pumps. they are just pumping the water out into the road.— pumps. they are just pumping the water out into the road. let's cross now to siobhan connor has been the victim of repeated floods in her home in shrewsbury, shropshire. tell us about your area at the moment. what is it like? listening to that report. _ moment. what is it like? listening to that report, the _ moment. what is it like? listening to that report, the water— moment. what is it like? listening to that report, the water is - moment. what is it like? listening to that report, the water is very i to that report, the water is very similar. it's receding, normally on

saturday morning park by the river is full of runners doing the park run. there's lots of water still there in the pathway so people should be out and about and enjoying the day and unfortunately, there are still lots of water about. we are also pumping water out. the water is still in our home but is starting to recede. ., ., , , ., still in our home but is starting to recede. ., , ., , recede. how many times have you been flooded before? _ recede. how many times have you been flooded before? since _ recede. how many times have you been flooded before? since the _ recede. how many times have you been flooded before? since the year- recede. how many times have you been flooded before? since the year 2000, l flooded before? since the year 2000, robabl flooded before? since the year 2000, probably seventh _ flooded before? since the year 2000, probably seventh in _ flooded before? since the year 2000, probably seventh in times _ flooded before? since the year 2000, probably seventh in times with - probably seventh in times with severe floods. since 1997, this will be flood number 20. but the earlier floods weren't on the scale of the floods weren't on the scale of the floods weren't on the scale of the floods we are seeing now. share floods weren't on the scale of the floods we are seeing now. are there an flood floods we are seeing now. are there any flood defences _ floods we are seeing now. are there any flood defences in _ floods we are seeing now. are there any flood defences in your _ floods we are seeing now. are there any flood defences in your area? - floods we are seeing now. are there any flood defences in your area? in | any flood defences in your area? in our area, any flood defences in your area? in ourarea, there is a any flood defences in your area? in our area, there is a flood defence in the frank well and another but

the people in between the two defences are still massively flooded. one of them, people have had really bad flooding this last few days. had really bad flooding this last few da 5. �* ,.., had really bad flooding this last fewda s. �* ., few days. and given the scale of this and the _ few days. and given the scale of this and the number— few days. and given the scale of this and the number of- few days. and given the scale of this and the number of people l this and the number of people affected, what help are getting the council or other authorities?- council or other authorities? that's wh i set council or other authorities? that's why i set up _ council or other authorities? that's why i set up the — council or other authorities? that's why i set up the action _ council or other authorities? that's why i set up the action group - council or other authorities? that's why i set up the action group so i why i set up the action group so that we can come together and support each other. but in terms of help and support, we couldn't even get hold of sandbags from the council. we had to buy them from being due. people getting parking tickets when moving their cars. we will have to see when we have our meeting what's going to happen. there's going to be some serious questions because repeated flooding in shrewsbury cannot go on like this. �* ., , ., in shrewsbury cannot go on like this. ., , ., , ., this. and for you personally, how

much damage — this. and for you personally, how much damage have _ this. and for you personally, how much damage have you - this. and for you personally, how| much damage have you sustained this. and for you personally, how- much damage have you sustained this time round? it must be expensive to keep replacing things and redecorate.— keep replacing things and redecorate. ~ �* ., ., redecorate. we've done over the ears redecorate. we've done over the years property — redecorate. we've done over the years property flood _ redecorate. we've done over the years property flood resilience, i years property flood resilience, which is putting your electric sockets above waist levels, putting your washing machines... year—on—year they were just get flooded and you have to replace them. trust lang everything up to download as —— moving everything up in the garage, moving cars, preparing for a flood, the water coming in, and afterthe preparing for a flood, the water coming in, and after the water has left, when the dust has settled, the clear—up, the silt, the sanitisation, the moulds that comes, the dehumidifiers. that's an exhausting process and an expensive one as well. exhausting process and an expensive one as well-— exhausting process and an expensive one as well. thank you very much for s-ueakin one as well. thank you very much for speaking to — one as well. thank you very much for speaking to us- _ one as well. thank you very much for speaking to us. good _ one as well. thank you very much for

speaking to us. good luck— one as well. thank you very much for speaking to us. good luck with i one as well. thank you very much for speaking to us. good luck with that. l it's an epic work that will span 18 metres. a new national war memorial will be installed in washington dc later this year — and one foundry in gloucestershire has played a key part. the extraordinary work of art has taken pangolin foundry in stroud and american sculptor sabin howard around 10 years to create, as amanda parr reports. a depiction of one soldier's journey through the great war and a creative journey like no other for the team here at pangolin. the american sculptor, sabin howard, searched the world for a foundry he trusted and he discovered it in stroud. as you can see, the casting has come beautifully, really sharp detail. i'm really happy with that. it's been a decade in the making. the process has been astonishing. actors with clothes from the period flew from the states to pose before this rig of cameras. 3d images were then made up in foam and clay and sent back

to the us for the sculpting, from life, each figure taking hundreds of hours. and then they've been shipped back to stroud to be cast in bronze. the project of a lifetime. how's the work going? how's the modelling? this week, one more day, next week, five days and then four days. so that's total of ten days of sculpting. and we're finished 60 feet and 25 tonnes. what a project. it'll be america's first ever national memorial to the first world war, and some very well known us citizens have lent their support to the project. it captures the dignity of the mission that the people who fought in that war were carrying in their hearts, the trauma that they endured and the legacy that they left behind. and the monument is...just breathtaking. while its creation has been complex, its narrative will be compellingly simple — one soldier's journey and a young

nation coming of age. it's been said this work of art could become the greatest memorial bronze of the modern age, and one gloucestershire foundry will have played no small part in that achievement. amanda palmer, bbc news. greece has reopened one of its most important monuments of classical antiquity, the site of the palace where alexander the great was crowned king of macedonia in the year 336 bc. it's taken 16 years to renovate parts of the palace of aigai, nearthessaloniki. the restored sections include some of its massive colonnades. the greek prime minister, kyriakos mitsotakis, described friday's reopening as an event of global importance. the palace was built by alexander's father, philip the second — bones discovered there are thought to be his. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. for many of us, it's been a dry and a fairly quiet start to the weekend. good news, of course,

after the recent heavy rainfall and the storms that we've had, the flooding now should start to subside, but we've had lots of blue skies this morning. this was the scene in south lanarkshire. but you can see from the satellite image here, for many parts of the uk we've had clear skies and that's been extending its way out into the atlantic as well. the reason for that is high pressure, which is building in now across the united kingdom. and what that does is it stops the atlantic weather systems coming in, those rain bearing weather systems moving in. so things are certainly looking more settled for the weekend and into next week. for the rest of today, we've still got quite a bit of cloud across eastern areas. one or two showers here, showers easing across parts of wales, just limited towards western coastal areas, one or two towards cornwall as well. maximum temperatures get into about six to eight degrees celsius for most of us. it's a lovely afternoon with some dry weather and some sunshine now through this evening and tonight, the cloud across eastern areas may just drift a bit further

westward, but there'll be some clear skies across most areas and it's going to be quite cold, actually. there's going to be some frost, particularly towards the north. and the west, temperatures here minus one, minus two degrees celsius where you keep some cloud, perhaps frost free temperatures staying just above freezing. but as we go through sunday, there could be a few showers coming into northeastern areas of england. the cloud may start off with or tend to lift and break. there'll be some sunny spells across most parts of the uk on sunday afternoon and temperatures about 4 to six degrees celsius, but a chilly two degrees there in glasgow. as we go into next week, this area of high pressure remains. it doesn't look like it's going to move very far at all really for the next five days, so the outlook is drier. but beneath that area of high pressure, we've got an east or north—easterly wind drawing in that colder air from scandinavia. so the temperatures will be at or below the average for the time of year. on monday morning, some patches of mist and fog they should lift and clear away some frost around as well. but plenty of dry weather

with some sunny spells. temperatures in the face of it, about three to five degrees celsius. but we have that rather brisk east or northeasterly wind. it's going to feel more like this. so perhaps feeling like freezing across central areas. and then for the rest of the week, it remains largely dry and settled by.

live from london. this is bbc news. alaska airlines grounds boeing 737 max 9 planes after a section of fuselage including a window fell off mid—air, forcing the pilots

to make an emergency landing. the iranian—backed lebanese group, hezbollah, says it has launched a barrage of rockets at northern israel, in response to tuesday's beirut explosion that killed a top hamas official. us secretary of state, antony blinken, begins his latest trip to the middle east and the wider region for talks — his fourth since hamas' october attack on israel. police in london confirm they're investigating potential fraud offences in relation to the wrongful prosecution of hundreds of sub—post masters by the post office. the uk health security agency issues a week—long cold weather alert as parts of england still struggle with floods following a week of heavy rain. hello, i'm lauren taylor. let's return to that breaking news we brought to you earlier. an alaska airlines flight

from the us city of portland has